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twinsfan -> RE: Players and prospects III (10/16/2016 5:42:54 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Daniel Lee Young
Guys.. i know it's not my place to talk about your team..
i am Considering that you have some new management in place..
I want to ask what your opinion is, of the following..
I do not follow baseball with the same kind of passion that a lot of you do.. but I do follow.. and I have played.. so I understand a lot of the nuances of the game..
anyway..
A winning team needs the following things in order of importance..IMO
A winning battery
that is:
4 starters, three relievers, a "lights out" closer and two catchers who can manage games and who the pitchers are comfortable with letting them suggest or make pitch calls..
thats 9- 10 players..
fully 40 % of a team's 25 man active roster is taken up by two positions.
Those two positions account for only 22% of a "game lineup', or 20%, if you include a DH on the "10 man" game line up card.
IDK what the Twins have, but judging by the game day thread.. your pitching has serious issues.
Second, in my opinion, is the middle infield..
A third baseman, shortstop and second baseman.
Those three positions are the key to a good defense behind the pitcher.. almost any semi decent player can man first base..even crappy fielders who have a good bat get that position...first base
so including the infielders.. and most teams usually have 1-2 "utility" type guys who can come in for situational reasons, like pinch hit or pinch run( although pinch runners are usually outfield "swing guys")
let's just say your team needs 7 middle infielders including the First Base position and a couple "do anything" utility guys
We are up to 17/25... thats 68 % of the active roster, but it covers 70% of the "game day" lineup card, because i am including a DH in both active roster and game day lineup..
That leave you 8 active spots for three outfield spots..
ideally, you have three guys who can be counted on to play, barring injuries,95% of the time and are actually talented fielders and hitters..
they have to be both..
a guy who is a good defensive outfielder but a bad bat is usually a bench player used for pinch running.. not a big cost to value there, but most teams have one like that.
the other side of the coin is a poor fielder, but a good bat.. aka, your designated pinch hitter.. again a cost to value deficit, but again most teams have at least one of these as well
that's five more of the 8 spots left.. or 22/25, 88% of your active roster.
you are left with three spots to use as needed to make your team flexible and competitive on the winning side of the equation..
All this is, of course, up until september roster expansion..
But if you are not a winning and competitive team by September.. it's pretty much over for your team anyway and september call ups should only be used to evaluate talent and position your roaster for improvement , next season.
so, to summarize:
Pitcher 1
pitcher 2
pitcher 3
closer
middle relief pitcher
pitcher 4
situational pitcher/reliever
primary catcher
secondary/bullpen catcher
third
short
second
first
dh
right
center
left
These 17 positions are the "core" of a winning team, imo.
you can not compete and win consistently without at least MLB average, or above, players at most of these positions and some of them, like pitching, HAVE to be, MLB leaders.
At least one or two need to be in the top ten, imo
The other 8 positions should complement and fill the roster to cover shortcomings and weaknesses of the core 17.
Up until september, there are no "luxury" positions that should be filled by "just because it's 'so and so' and we pay him a lot of money to do what he did in the past.."
A player's value better be worth a winning edge or his contract is an albatross on the teams performance and ability to be competitive.
Good teams know when to cut bait.. ship the expensive contracts off or buy them out and move on...
fan opinions be damned.
True professional players also know when to let it go for the good of their team.
Derek Jeter comes to mind.. he started sliding into mediocrity and called it quits..
gave it his best shot on the "retirement tour", then let it go.
my question is this:
does this team have 17 core players?
I kinda doubt it on a team that loses 100 games..
no offense..
Do you think you have a FO that can turn it around in a couple years?
do you have faith in your Manager at least?
This was a fun post to read, Dan-o. Enjoy reading different philosophies on putting together a roster. I think there's something to what you're saying, but I personally would not rank backup catcher as highly as you do. I'm coming around more on the strong bullpen idea. Used to think you could just scrap together a bullpen. Not so. Playoffs now prove that. I still like the idea of having all bullpen guys, no true starters, and mixing and matching 2-3 innings out of various guys each game. Should be able to get by with a 10-man staff and expand your bench.
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